CVE-2025-24495 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting certain Intel(R) Core™ Ultra Processors. The root cause is an incorrect initialization of a resource within the branch prediction unit (BPU), a critical CPU component responsible for predicting the direction of branches in instruction execution to improve performance. This flaw may allow an authenticated local user with low privileges to exploit the vulnerability and cause information disclosure. Specifically, the attacker could leverage the misinitialized BPU resource to infer sensitive data from the processor's internal state, potentially leaking confidential information processed by the CPU. The vulnerability requires local access and authentication, meaning remote exploitation is not feasible without prior system access. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:L/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:N/SA:N) indicates that the attack vector is local, with high complexity, partial attack prerequisites, low privileges, no user interaction, and high impact on confidentiality. Integrity and availability impacts are not present. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches or mitigations have been officially published at the time of disclosure. The affected versions are not explicitly listed but pertain to Intel Core Ultra processors, which are deployed in various enterprise and consumer devices. This vulnerability highlights the risks associated with microarchitectural flaws in modern CPUs, where subtle hardware initialization errors can lead to side-channel information leaks.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-24495 centers on potential confidentiality breaches of sensitive data processed on affected Intel Core Ultra processors. Enterprises handling critical intellectual property, personal data under GDPR, or classified information could face data leakage risks if attackers gain authenticated local access, such as through compromised user accounts or insider threats. Although the vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability, the confidentiality breach could lead to regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and loss of competitive advantage. The requirement for local access and high attack complexity reduces the likelihood of widespread exploitation but does not eliminate risk in environments with many privileged or semi-privileged users. Organizations relying heavily on Intel Core Ultra processors in workstations, servers, or edge devices may need to assess exposure. The absence of known exploits and patches suggests a window for proactive mitigation before active exploitation emerges. Given the high confidentiality impact, sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and critical infrastructure in Europe should prioritize risk assessment and remediation planning.

To mitigate CVE-2025-24495 effectively, European organizations should implement a multi-layered approach beyond generic advice. First, enforce strict access controls and least privilege principles to limit authenticated local user access, reducing the attack surface. Employ robust endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for suspicious local activity indicative of exploitation attempts targeting CPU microarchitectural features. Coordinate with Intel and hardware vendors to obtain and deploy firmware or microcode updates as soon as they become available, as these are likely to address the BPU initialization flaw. In the interim, consider disabling or restricting features related to branch prediction if feasible and supported by the platform, understanding the potential performance trade-offs. Conduct thorough audits of user accounts and session management to detect and prevent unauthorized local access. Additionally, implement data encryption at rest and in use to minimize the impact of any leaked information. Finally, maintain up-to-date threat intelligence feeds to monitor for emerging exploit techniques targeting this vulnerability.